Nehemiah 8 - An In Touch Devotional

Esdras Preaches the Law by Julius Schnoor

If you are on the In Touch e-mail list, you may have received this devotional.  I think of this scene every once in a while when I notice people checking their watches close to the end of the service – while sitting in pews.  The crowd above has no pew.

And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel. (Nehemiah 8:1 KJV)

Ezra didn’t confine himself to twenty minutes following a period of adjustment to bring hearts together in worship, either.

And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law. (Nehemiah 8:3 KJV)

“How is it that two people can sit in the same pew, hear the same sermon about the same portion of Scripture, and walk away with two different reactions? One is joyful and the other unaffected. I think the reason is that some people do not know how to listen to the Word of God.

“Nehemiah 8 is an amazing scene of God’s people coming together to hear His Word. Remember that they didn’t have individual copies of Scripture to read. For generations, the events of Genesis though Deuteronomy were passed down from parent to child. Moreover, the people had been in captivity for many years. This was the first time most of them heard the Word read. Imagine their excitement as they listened attentively for the Lord to speak to them.

“The Israelites were hungry for God’s Word. Are you? Do you listen eagerly and with an expectant mind and heart? The length of a person’s attention span is directly related to the intensity of his hunger for something. If you crave to know more of God, then your mind is going to be fastened on what He’s saying through your pastor or your personal reading. And the reality is that nothing in the world matters as much as what the Lord has to say.

“So many things clamor for our focus but few truly deserve it. The Lord is worthy of nothing less than our undivided attention. He has something to say to every person. So whoever listens to God’s Word with an open heart and alert mind will receive from Him.”

Would we be willing to stand – for hours – and hear God’s law explained to us?  How about just one hour next Sunday morning at the church of your choice?

… caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. (Nehemiah 8:7b KJV)